


To Learn That Lesson

by Merfilly



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 04:05:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8431225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: A tale of two Padawans, and the Jedi that nurtured them.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [B_Radley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_Radley/gifts).



> This is non-canon compliant on the subject of Ti's padawans on purpose. Intended as a gift that might fit within [B_Radley](http://archiveofourown.org/users/B_Radley/pseuds/B_Radley)'s 'verses, I adapted to the presentation of the padawans' fates there. It should not, however, be accepted as 'canon' to their 'verses.
> 
> //text// = internal thought  
> ~text~ = telepathy

The graceful Togruta Knight, clad in the robes that were expected in the Temple, carefully surveyed the Initiates. She knew she was expected to choose a padawan; few Knights made it beyond their first year without taking on the honor of teaching the next generation. She had taken her time to decide on that, partly because of disagreements with her master, and partly because she was seeking a better way.

Now, believing she had found one, she had come to the latest exhibition of Force skills. She discarded several likely candidates off the top of her head for various reasons, while surveying the rest with an objective eye. There were none of her own species this time, nor any of the others that lived close to nature, limiting her choices to the humans and near-humans, given what she had in mind.

Two were standing out in her mind, a Noorian like Master Tahl and a human male with features that reminded her somewhat of Master Windu. She continue to watch both, and reached into the Force, listening to its push on her. That subtle guidance was calling her toward the Noorian, and she made certain to study him more carefully. 

He was athletic, using the telekinetic skills as easily as he used his lightsaber, and seemed to have an easy temperament, given how gracefully he accepted when others scored points against him. She waited at the end, to be certain that she was not poaching against someone else, and then approached the youth.

"Initiate Atti?" she inquired, to get his attention. The gold eyes that turned toward her widened in shock; had her reputation for ignoring the exhibitions already grown so much? It was not as if there weren't precedent. Master Tahl had waited decades before taking a padawan. Shaak Ti had fond memories of the classes she had experienced with the Archivist when she had been an Initiate herself.

"Master Ti," he acknowledged, giving her a short bow. She noted the hope that was in his eyes as he straightened, wondering. The Force resonance was strong, encouraging her to make this step, and she followed her instincts.

"Will you do me the honor of becoming my padawan, Initiate Atti?"

"The honor, Master Ti, is all mine," he told her so sincerely that she had to tip her head slightly to one side.

"Oh?" she inquired, hearing more, sensing something, in the way he was reacting to her.

"I have been hoping for the last few months that you would consider me, Master, ever since watching you handle the assassination attempt against Master Rancisis," he admitted to her, casting his eyes down as he realized how that might sound. She reached out, finger under his chin to tip it up and smiled at him.

"Padawan, if those skills are what drew you to me, I think the Force has guided us together in perfect harmony."

+++

The Knight watched with dry eyes and serene composure as the young man that had thrived at her side for the last few years was given his rites. Atti had been a strong student, adapting so well to the methods she had chosen for teaching him, but a rare trip back to Coruscant had seen violence from an anti-Jedi sect, and he had done as duty called, defending the younglings he had been shepherding that day.

_"Would I have been a good hunter?"_

She locked the emotions down within her soul, focusing on the mantra of 'passion, yet serenity' to hide the fact his death did hurt, that it had carved its own mark on her heart to hold him, just that little bit too late, and have that be the last he said to her.

_"An excellent one, Atti. A hunter guards his kinfast strongly, as you have."_

The flames licked up around the Noorian's body, obscuring it from her sight. She would stay, until the pyre had burned to nothing, one last vigil for her student.

+++

Shaak Ti looked up as a Schenor Initiate came up to her in the Archives. It was so rare for the felinoid Force-Sensitive species to actually come to the temple to train. 

"May I aid you, Initiate?" she asked. She felt a slight dismay at not knowing the name of the being, but she had not interacted with the young of the Temple in any great fashion since Atti's death.

"I hope so, Master Ti," the Schenor said in a voice that Shaak believed was feminine. "Master Koon suggested I come to discuss this with you."

//Ahh, my friend, what are you up to this time with your meddling?// "Go ahead, young one," she said neutrally. She rather adored the Kel Dor Master, but there were lines he liked to push with individual Jedi, and somehow she was on that list.

"I find myself at odds between what I have learned as a Jedi, and my own people's beliefs, as well as holding a concern that I have not honed my natural abilities as well as I might, in working to become a good Jedi," the Schenor told her. "Master Plo Koon suggested that you might be able to guide me to an understanding on the former, and help hone the latter."

//You sneaky, telepathic… just wait until I see you again, Plo Koon!// She ignored the fact that she could probably reach out and find his mind easily, given his gifts, as she appraised the young one. "Are you seeking to persuade me to teach you, counsel you, or to take you as my padawan?"

Shaak Ti's fate was sealed, as the Initiate brightened, flashing sharp teeth with a bold answer. "Yes, to all of that, Master Ti."

What could she do in the face of that confidence, when she had been growing restless, dreaming of Shili, itching to guide a young one as she had meant to do with Atti?

"Let us go register it with the Council, Padawan…" She trailed off, waiting for the name of her new apprentice.

"Fe Sun, Master Ti."

+++

Shaak Ti all but flung her headdress away from her, as she faced the fact that all of her teaching had done nothing for Fe Sun. What kind of Huntress was she that she could not nurture the young to strength and maturity of their own?!

~Don't do this to yourself, my friend,~ came the intrusive voice of Plo Koon. She wanted to tune him out, but… Fe Sun had been one of those he had found and brought to the Order. Of course he would be grieving, and had a right to chide her for her un-Jedi mannerisms. ~I am not chiding you, Shaak. I feel your pain, and I share it. Fe Sun was a promising one, adapted well to your ways, and to have her undone by treacherous murder is a true loss.~

~I meant to see her to her trials soon! She was ready!~

~Her death is not on your hands. The Council was prepared to prod you to let her loose. She was ready. Let go of the guilt, for it is not rightful, and allow yourself to grieve, so that in time, you may find the right child in need of your guidance.~ Plo's words were a gentle balm, but her soul was raw with the second, abrupt death of one she was nurturing.

~I am uncertain I will take another,~ she posited at him. There was a long, quiet pause, and she half-thought he had left her mind.

~I think, in time, only you will know if that is the correct path, my friend.~ Then he did withdraw, and she was certain of it. After several long moments, she made herself collect the headdress, noting she had damaged the setting.

That could be mended, unlike the breaks inside her heart.

//Serenity must be practiced, when passion rides high,// she reminded herself. She would cope, adapt, and move forward… somehow.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Probability of Failure: The Mother](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9551498) by [B_Radley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_Radley/pseuds/B_Radley)
  * [The First Hope](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14084259) by [B_Radley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_Radley/pseuds/B_Radley)
  * [The Probability of Failure: The Criminal](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15064211) by [B_Radley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_Radley/pseuds/B_Radley)




End file.
